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If you're 14 you haven't finished growing, your bones, muscles and connective tissues are not as strong as they will be when you're 20. Do you really want to mess your body up *right now* for want of a decent teacher?

Hey Batty, I asked Rachel about this one once and she directed me to her (then in production but now available) "Serpentine" dvd. I have seen this and her strengthening exercises on it are SUPER! Because I have very little flexibility in my back nowadays, I try to do those exercises just to keep from tightening up.

Strong thighs yes, but Rachel will tell you strong Abs are also key. Of course Rachel is just strong all over, so it's probably a cumulative thing.

Regarding tricks -- yes, it's a trick. And yes we've all seen it because we're dancers. That doesn't mean we can't be impressed by it, when it's done well. There's a dancer in Louisville who used to do this, and I swear watching her it was like watching a "bullet time" fall in The Matrixx. She seemed to defy gravity when she did it. I never grew tired of watching her do that. Also, just because we've seen it, doesn't mean the general public audience has. If I had a nickel for every time somebody in the crowd gasped when I pulled out a sword ...

Tricks are fine. Just be sure to do them WELL!!!!! Don't perform them until you can do them effortlessly -- or at least make it look effortless

Thanks!
I do actually have Rachel's "Serpentine" DVD. I love it to death so far, but as I'm choosing new courses for school at the moment, and because we've had power outages in my area, I haven't had the chance to work through the entire video. I will probably finish up this weekend.

Oh yay! As soon as I finish working through all the Zoe Jakes dvds I went off and bought... Never enough ATS floorwork!
Thank you all for helping me. I have gotten help from my teacher and am now capable of doing the drop smoothly and precisely without hurting myself.

Are you planning to end your drop in a backbend position? Ie, kneeling with your shoulders back near the floor? If so, one thing to work on is to reach the point of being able to do a kneeling backbend effortlessly. This means developing the strength to go down in a controlled way, and the flexibility to hold the position once you're in it. Suggestions on exercises to help you develop those skills can be found on my web site at this link: http://shira.net/technique/backbend.htm

Here's a caution to consider: The Turkish drops are not a particularly safe move to do. A bad landing could break a kneecap (or other bone), dislocate a knee, tear ligaments/tendons, etc.

Now, I was fully aware of that, and I decided to go ahead and learn/perform Turkish drops anyway. I performed them successfully for about 3-4 years, and they were always an audience pleaser. However... after 3-4 years of doing them successfully, I had one go bad. Both of my kneecaps were pulled off center. OUCH! They stayed that way several years - several years of pain going up stairs, walking up hills, etc. I had to stop doing belly dance floor work because of the stress it put on my knees, and I was very limited in which yoga poses I could do in yoga classes. Eventually, a combination of rolfing and myofascial release spread over several weeks restored my kneecaps to their proper position. It cost me nearly $1,000, because my insurance wouldn't pay for massage (rolfing/myofascial), and the treatment itself was painful.

So, even though the move looks really cool, and it's really tempting to learn it, I feel the need to point out that the risk is very real. It's a fabulous show-off move, but it really could cause you several years of pain, possibly even cripple you for life. I know, because it happened to me.

Shira and Shanazel are giving sound advice. Even though you're very young and strong now, it is all too easy to have a mishap. Your body is still growing and developing---some young people don't stop growing until their early 20's.

It's bad enough to permanently injure yourself due to things such as work, as in the case of my 27-year-old daughter who has ruined her back and shoulder due to working as a CNA since she was 20. It's another thing entirely to permanently damage yourself just because you want a "stunning" move in your dance repertoire.